Strange Worlds
by MyMindisaMess
Summary: Who says that cartoon characters could never last a day in the Game of Thrones universe? Well, most won't, but Katara and Zuko seem to have the best shot, as long as they get the right help along the way, like a Hound and a Wolf? And maybe a little dove later on?
1. Chapter 1

Katara gasped, half in pain and half in anger, as a thorn drew a red line across her arm. Without thinking, she bent the water from her pouch, healing the cut by instinct. It had been a long time since she had bled for a long period of time. One of the perks of being a healer, she guessed.

"Zuko," she cried out in exasperation, "we're lost." The Fire Prince refused to accept the simple truth. They had been walking all day.

"How can we be lost?" It was more a statement than a question, "we were right behind them!"

"I don't know." Katara sighed as she pulled a branch away from her, "But this place doesn't even smell the same." Zuko paused, smelling the air for the first time.

"It smells . . . Wet."

"But we're in the middle of a drought." Even as Katara said it she knew it wasn't true. She could _feel _the water flowing in the dirt beneath her feat, and in every branch that slapped her face. "At least, we _were _in the middle of a drought."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I feel crazy for saying this, but do you remember when we first lost track of everyone?" Katara had been thinking all day as they walked.

"Of course I do-" Zuko stopped and rested his fingers on his chin in thought. "It was . . . "

"Exactly." Katara started walking again, mostly because she wanted to feel like she was doing something. "The memory of losing everyone is all a haze. I think I remember Aang saying something similar happened to him when he went to the spirit world."

"You're trying to say we're in the spirit world?" Zuko would have laughed at any other time.

"No, that wouldn't make any sense. Only the avatar can travel between worlds." Katara sighed, and looked back at Zuko. He seemed lost in thought.

She trudged forward, with each step becoming angrier at the trees. For some reason, they seemed like they wanted to keep her from walking forward. She briefly thought of the swamp tribe, before discarding that thought as ridiculous. She was visibly happy when the trees began to thin.

"My uncle," Zuko's sudden voice was sudden in the silence of the forest, "used to have a telescope. When we spent months at sea, he'd stare up at the stars. I asked him once why he spent so much time looking at something so useless," Zuko chuckled, "needless to say I earned a lecture with that remark. He said 'we can learn a lot about the heavens,' and pointed to a bright star, 'as many have already learned that that is not a star, a sun, or a moon. But rather, another planet.'"

"A planet?"

"He thought that there was more in this universe than just one world. I wrote it off as an old man's rambling, but what if he's right?" Zuko glanced up at the sky, but the view was blocked by leaves. "What if we traveled to another world?"

"That. . ." Katara thought for a moment, before realization dawned on her, "Do you feel different?"

"Different how?"

"I don't know. . . Stronger?" Katara tapped her foot to the ground and felt the water within it. Is that what Toph always felt? "Bending-wise. Do you feel different?"

Zuko's eyes widened. He held out his palm, willing a flame to appear. Katara had seen the trick before, a habit Zuko had when he was bored. This time, though, the flame leapt high, licking the canopy of leaves before he called it back down.

". . . Yes. Much more. I'd say that there's either a full moon and comet above us, or we figured something out, at least."

"Why, though?" Katara stopped as she came into a small clearing. She was not expecting to see anyone else.

"Who're you?" A strange stick of a girl whirled around, holding a think blade. Her hair was cut short, but there was no hiding a girl's voice.

"I'm Katara." Katara said simply, "This is Zuko." The girl's eyes narrowed.

"Who do you fight for?" The girl asked after studying their clothes. She seemed confused.

"Who do we fight for?" Katara was appalled. The only one in doubt should be Zuko, but even so, it should be obvious enough who they fight against.

"Yes. Who do you fight for. You're wearing Tully colors." The girl pointed the sword at Katara, shifting her stance so her side was facing her opponent. "And you're wearing Lannister." She shifted again, pointing at Zuko. A man moaned, and Katara noticed him for the first time.

"What happened to him?" She asked, her healer's instinct taking over.

"He got cut." The girls stated simply, not moving out of her fighting stance.

"He's going to die if he doesn't get treatment!"

"I already poured boiling wine over his cuts." The girl said it as if that was the only thing that could be done.

"That's barbaric!" Katara stepped forward, and the girl stayed her ground. Katara stepped back, confused at the girls actions. The girl was so much like Toph, but there was something more.

"Calm down," Zuko said, and the girl switched her focus to him. She was obviously concerned about fighting two people, but she hid it well. It was only when she looked at Zuko's face for the first time that her guard wavered. She glanced at the man behind her, then regained her composure.

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm a healer," Katara held her hands out, "and I can save him. But only if you let me."

The girl thought for a moment, before lowering her sword. She didn't put it away, but it was enough for Katara to get the message. "Thank you," Katara murmured as she rushed past.

As Katara bent the water, the girl gasped, and then quickly hid hit by feigning hiccups.

"Are you a sorcerer?" The scrawny girl asked, unable to keep her curiosity from showing.

"Do you have a name?" Zuko replied. He leaned against a tree as he watched Katara work. It was always a strange sight, to see people get better instantly. For some reason, watching people get hurt instantly wasn't.

"I'm. . . Arya," She was hesitant for some reason.

"And him? Your father?" Arya seemed repulsed by the thought.

"Not my father. You don't know him?"

"Should I?" Zuko looked more closely at the man's face. He passed over the scarred face slowly, and for a moment his own scars itched. He ignored the feeling.

"He's the Hound." Arya stated, as if that should make Zuko recognize the strange man in metal.

"Sorry," Zuko shook his head, "we're not exactly from around here." Arya laughed.

"Well that much was obvious from how you're dressed."

"What?" Zuko was somehow embarrassed by her.

"No one travels these days without a sword."

"Why not?"

"You're kidding, right?" Arya sighed and sat down, poking the fire absentmindedly with a stick. At some point, she had stuck the sword in her belt. Zuko took that as a good sign.

Katara stood up, her work done. "He should be waking up soon." She paused for a moment, "if I had not been here, he would have died." The simple idea of death shocked Zuko to silence. It seemed to have the same effect on Katara, though Arya shrugged it off.

". . . Thank you." Arya said after a while.

The camp fell into a comfortable silence. Katara wandered off to the river to catch fish while Zuko cared for the fire. Arya cared for one of the horses, though she gave the second a wide girth.  
"What are you looking at?" Arya snapped at Zuko when she caught him staring for the second time.

"What . . . is that thing?" Zuko gestured to Stranger.

"The horse?"

"A horse?" Zuko furrowed his brow, or at least the half that was unmarred. "Just a horse?" Arya gave him a strange look, giving Zuko all the answer he needed, "This world is strange."

"What's strange?" Katara asked as she came back into the clearing, a string of fish in her hand.

"That's a horse."

"Just a horse? Like the Earth King's bear?"

"Yeah."

"Weird." Katara started to put the fish around the fire.

"What are you doing?" Arya chose now to intervene in the strange conversation. They were making less sense than Sansa's knight stories.

"Cooking the fish, unless you want to eat it raw?" Katara somehow managed to stop herself from scoffing at the girl that must have been four years younger.

"You have to gut it first."

"Gut it?" Katara's scorn turned to disgust, "Why would you do that?"

"So you don't get sick! Just go away, I'll do it. Honestly, even Sansa knows you have to gut a fish, though she'd never do it." Arya seemed to have had enough, and Katara bit back the remark she would have used against Toph. Instead, she moved and settled in next to Zuko, watching the scarred man's easy breathing.

It was Zuko that finally broke the silence. "Who is he?"

"I told you already. He's the Hound." Arya rolled her eyes.

"That's not even a name!" Katara had been fuming for a while. She was usually the one in charge whenever they made camp.

"It's the one he's known by." Arya shrugged, she seemed too tired to be angry. Or too confused?

"How did he get his scar?" The Hound seemed to move at that, as if people talking about him was enough to wake him from his slumber.

"You would have to ask San-"

"Sansa!" The Hound woke up, panting. He wasted no time in taking in his surroundings, and within seconds he was standing, sword in hand. Arya made no move to stop him, she simply continued to stare into the flames, contemplating the events of the day.

"Put your sword away." Zuko said, and the Hound turned his attention to him first.

"Show me your face." The Hound's voice was raspy from lack of water, "I like to see the face of the people I kill."

"Kill? We just saved your life!" Katara was beginning to hate this world, whereas Zuko seemed to accept his fate. He pulled his hood down, and the Hound stared into a face just as scarred as his own for the first time in his life. The shock of it made him lower the sword, made him see sense.

"I'm . . . Sorry." The word seemed foreign on his tongue.

"They're magical," Arya looked up from the flames, confusion written on her face.

"I think we all need to sit down and . . . talk . . ." Katara said after the silence had stretched on too long. "I'll start. My names Katara, and I'm a water bender from the South Pole." She seemed proud that she had done _something _to make this less confusing.

"What's a water bender?" Arya asked as the Hound sat down silently, brooding on some matter.

"I . . ." Katara struggled, never having had to explain this before, "I can control the flow of water." She settled on the vague description, "I can use it to heal, as well." As emphasis, she drew the water out of her bending pouch and twirled it in the air. The movement seemed to mesmerize the Hound.

"Can I learn?" Arya got excited, hoping she could use such a power to make it to the Wall, and to Jon.

"It's a power you have to be born with," Zuko said, "I'm Zuko from the Fire Nation, exiled for defying my father." Zuko stated simply, earning himself a strange look from Katara. No speech on being an exiled prince? Zuko changed quickly.

"Zuko. . ." Katara trailed off.

"What? Do you want me to rant about how I'll recover the throne that I was exiled from?" Zuko glared out of the corner of his good eye, "How can I get to a throne that doesn't seem to exist in this world at all? How will we even get back? Aang's the only person who should be able to travel to the spirit world, and even he's never gone to another world entirely."

"A nation of fire." The Hound muttered to himself, "It sounds a lot like hell to me."

"It's a beautiful country," Katara tried to ignore Zuko's rant, but it was obvious that what he said was getting to her, "Aang, Toph, Sokka, Zuko and I. . ." She trailed off again, and looked down. Tears welled up in her eyes, and finding herself in what was quite possibly the least sympathetic company, continued on, "We were all traveling together . . . Zuko and I were cut off when Sokka took a sharp turn . . . We never caught back up with them. . ." The tears were flowing down her cheeks now, her voice dangerously close to breaking. "That's when we met you."

"Sounds like you've angered the gods. New or old, though, I've never heard them do anything like that before." Arya shrugged and picked up a fish, handing it to Katara who gave a nod of thanks. "If it helps any, you're in Westoros right now, in the Seven Kingdoms." Katara handed out the rest of the fish, the Hound tore into his with the vigor of a man that had just been on the cusp of death.

"What's your story, boy?" The Hound said between mouthfuls.

"I just told you-"

"Not where you're _from, _how you got the scar. Seven Hells, I'll even tell you how I got mine." The Hound seemed drunk, somehow. He's been near death a hundred time, but this time seemed different to him. . . He felt like he had a direction now. Unfortunately, he'd been running in the wrong direction. "My brother shoved my face in a hot bed of coals for playing with his toy knight." He actually laughed at that, with some strange sense of humor.

"I defied my father openly at a war council. He challenged me to a fire-bending duel, and I refused." Zuko's face was calm, he'd relived the memory so often it no longer hurt to think about. "I couldn't bring myself to fight my own father, and he punished me by branding my cowardice on my face for all to see. Then he cast me out, leaving the throne open for my younger, crueler sister." He locked eyes with the hound, "Brother or father, which do you think is worse?"

That only seemed to make the Hound laugh more, and Arya seemed to back away in fear, "Fuck that. Fuck your father, fuck my brother, may they burn in the seven hells forever. I'll send my brother there personally, but first I'll play your little game." Sandor laughed, truly insane, "I'm Sandor Clegane, once a guard to the King until they set the city on fire. I left, and picked up this little runt on the way up north." He looked to Arya, signaling that it was her turn to tell her story. She sighed before beginning.

"I'm Arya of house Stark. That's it." She glared at the hound, her small amount of defiance, which made him laugh all the more.

"We'll camp here, I suppose. It's getting dark, we can start off again in the morning. If you two would like to keep traveling with us you're welcome to. We're going south. I forgot something back in the city." Arya was about to make a complaint, but one look at the Hound's face made the argument shrivel away.

The four made an uncomfortable camp before falling into a deep sleep, the day's events weighing them down.


	2. Chapter 2

**I had meant to put a slight introduction at the beginning of my first chapter. . . Whoops . . . Better late than never, I suppose? Anyway, this is the first story that I'm actually trying to write down. So many are rushing through my head at once (the inspiration of my username) that it's difficult to keep my mind focused on one thing for very long. My own brand of ADHD: writer's style. As such, these won't be revised at all, since revising is where I end up throwing everything away and then crying in a corner. I apologize in advanced for anything poorly written, and what should go without saying is that none of these characters belong to me, nor the places that their adventure is taking place in. **

They were quick to wake the next morning, though all for different reasons. Arya had gotten into the habit since she had started training with Syrio, cats were easier to catch in the early morning. Sandor's was from a warrior's life, never sleeping past dawn, as that was the most likely time for attacks. Zuko rose with the sun, and was never able to sleep past daybreak. Katara always made sure she was the first person up since Sokka realized that he could draw on people's faces when they were asleep.

Without tents to break down, and few things to pack up, they were gone within the hour.

"Are you sure you wish to travel with us?" The Hound asked Zuko as they left the campsite behind, "It will be dangerous. You can leave, head north, take the girl with you."

"I'm not leaving." Arya argued, surprising Sandor. He assumed she'd take the first opportunity to leave him, "You're going to save Sansa, aren't you? You muttered her name in your sleep, and I've seen the way you looked at her before." Sandor didn't say anything, his gaze was fixed on the road before him. "I'm going to help you save my sister. I couldn't help save my mom, or my brother, or even my father. I can help with this, though."

"We'll help, too." Katara said, trying to be helpful. She already felt bad that they were forced to walk now, with only two horses for four people.

"Fine then. We'll take the King's Road."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"We've got a girl who can control water-"

"Water-bender, and Zuko's a fire-bender." Katara didn't want the attention fully on her, and Zuko's silence was making her nervous.

"You control fire? Like a dragon?"

"Something like that," Zuko laughed, followed by the Hound.

"The Red Priests would love to have you around." His laughter carried the group into silence.

"So now you're not afraid of fire?" Arya's voice was tainted with anger, "and you're leading us to suicide through the King's Road? Have you gone mad?" Arya's hand had drifted to Needle, though she posed little threat to the self-exiled Hound.

"Mad? Maybe." Sandor chuckled, "I've lived my life killing others, enjoying it. The gods know that hasn't changed!" he chucked more, much to the distaste of Zuko and Katara. What had they gotten themselves into? "But, for the first time in my life I feel like I have something to do, something other than killing my brother." Sandor looked up to the clouds, seeing if they would offer any insight into his mind, "someone that's worth protecting."

"Sansa? Are we talking about the same person?" Arya's hand fell off of needle, she was unsure of how to deal with this man.

"Everyone is worth protecting!" Katara tried to inject her wisdom into the conversation, only to be met with the Hound's laughter.

"Everyone? Even the man who burnt off his face?" Katara shrunk, defeated. How was she going to survive this world when it was so full of misery? She desperately needed one of Sokka's jokes. Zuko walked to her side, placing his hand silently on her shoulder. One look was all it took for her to understand; they were both in the same mind about this world. They needed to leave it. As soon as possible.

"Does Sansa even _want _to be rescued? Last I checked she was in love." Arya stretched out the word "love," as she did whenever she made fun of Sansa. It usually earned her a "horse-face" retort.

"Yes. But she's betting on a fool to be her knight."

"And you'll be her knight instead." Arya was bitter. Then again, her thoughts were always bitter when it came to Sandor.

"I'm no knight." Sandor ended the conversation efficiently, one of his many talents.

They walked for hours in silence. Every footstep made the two benders miss Appa even more. It was Zuko who finally broke down.

"How much longer do we have to walk?" The question made both Arya and the Hound stare at him as if he had just said he played with Foo Foo Cuddly Poop's mother.

". . . Days . . ." Arya broke out of the shock first, and she looked like she wanted to slap Zuko for his stupidity.

"Don't you guys have a hot air balloon or something we could use?" Zuko sighed, exasperated. He never had to walk so much before in his life.

"No such thing." Sandor grunted, getting used to having to explain that some things simply didn't exist.

"What about a boat?" Katara asked, "Or even a body of water?" Would she be able to bend her way somewhere? She felt stronger, so she didn't doubt it. Heck, she felt like she would be able to bend the entire ocean right now, and it wasn't even night! She glanced to Zuko, wondering how strong he felt with the sun in the middle of the sky. Her mind began to wander, to however they had come to this world. What if others could come, too? What if Zuko's father managed to come over? She shivered at the thought of facing a super-powerful Fire Lord.

"It's more dangerous on the water than it is on land." Sansor grunted, snapping Katara out of her thoughts. "But we could meet up with the trident in a couple of days and travel down that, if your claims of controlling water prove true."

"Do you think I'm lying?" Katara had always been easily angered, and this was no exception.

"I'm saying that in this world, no one tells the truth."

"People are killed for telling the truth." Arya agreed, trying to stop herself from remembering her father in vain.

"Why?" Zuko asked, even in the Fire Nation, people weren't punished in such ways. The country with the worst leader he had ever known, the country that gave birth to Azula.

"Because people don't like the truth," the Hound was looking forward, hiding any expression from the rest of the group, "the innocent are tortured. The powerful are corrupted, and the knights are all brutes." He laughed at his own joke, "Not that I'm not a brute. But I never touched the little dove." He stopped himself from adding _that counts for something, right? _He didn't want any pity.

They walked the rest of the day, silently, with a million thoughts buzzing in each of their heads. They set up camp just off the road and settled into sleep, Katara offering to take first watch. It was a silent night, save for the howling of the wolves.


	3. Chapter 3

It was only on the third day that they ran into troubles. Sandor had put off getting on the King's Road longer than he could have, and apparently it was for good reason.

"We've got company." Zuko noted, though it was rather unnecessary. It's a difficult thing not to notice an entire garrison on an otherwise empty road.

"We've got a fight." The Hound agreed as he loosened his sword.

"What?" Katara squeaked, "Just like that? You're not even going to try to talk to them?"

"The entire fucking world is at war. No one wants to talk to strangers on the road, they want to kill the strangers and take their horses."

"There are at least thirty of them." Arya didn't seem that worried, which scared Katara more than it should have, "even you're not that good. No one's that good."

"Well then, I guess you should start praying to your trees." The Hound laughed, suddenly feeling alive. It was finally time for him to do something he was good at, killing people in a blind passion. It was different now, though. This time, he was more excited. He finally had something to fight for.

"Zuko." Katara grabbed his hand, pulling him back slightly. They didn't have much time before the garrison was upon them. "What do we do?"

"We've been traveling for three days with them, Katara." Zuko seemed just as confused. "We've heard all the tales they've told, all the stories of this strange world. With all of them, how do you feel about these two?"

"Terrified." Katara didn't have to think about her answer. Sandor scared her with his talk of killing, and Arya scared her with the talks of war and wolves. "But . . ." she paused, trying to think, "they're not bad people."

"So should we help them here?" Zuko questioned himself just as much as he questioned her.

"Kill people?"

"We were prepared to kill my father."

"That's different!"

"My father has done horrible things, Katara. No one is denying that, and Aang is the only one who thinks we should spare his life. These people, though? Not even my father would go as far as they do."

"Your father sent men to kill my mother!"

"My father sent men to a village. These people sent a man to kill a boy. The forced a man to kill his daughter's pet wolf. They reward a man for being a monster, and they tried to kill a boy in a bed." Zuko suddenly felt more like a prince than ever before. He never had to think so hard on _good _and _bad_ before. It used to be so much more obvious. Azula was bad, his mother was good. His father was bad, his uncle was good.

This, though? Sandor was bad, there was no denying that. He was also good, though. Arya killed people before, but she did it to go back home. Was there even any good in this world? Or would he have to judge people on how bad their crimes were? He didn't want to have to do that. He was beginning to hate this world quite a lot.

"What are you trying to say?" Katara's voice wavered. She was afraid, as she had every right to be. This world was not a kind one, and, being a healer, she felt it was her job to find the good in everyone. It was hard for her to find any good in the Hound.

"I'm saying that those men are worse than anyone we have ever met before. They have violated things even my father thought was evil. Azula wouldn't go as far as these men would go." Zuko glared down the road, he could see the men readying their weapons as they walked steadily closer. They were minutes away now. "I'm saying we should fight. Sandor and Arya are good people, as far as I can tell, and I want to help rescue this girl Sansa. Of all the people in this world, she seems like she might be the kindest."

"So we should kill these people?" Katara seemed to accuse him of it.

"I'm saying that I'm going to fight. My bending is stronger than it ever has been, though, and I doubt I'll be able to stop." Zuko seemed emotionless at this point, drained of energy. It wasn't hard for Katara to tell he hated the thought as much as she did. "I wish Aang were here. I'm sure he'd find a way to end this peacefully." Katara nodded as she emptied her mind, she didn't want to think about what she was about to do. With a slight flick of her wrist, she began to draw the water from the surrounding trees out.

If there was going to be a fight, then she was going to fight.

"What do we have here, boys?" The leader of the group had drawn his horse to a halt, and grinning at Sandor in a way that made Katara want to run in terror. It didn't seem human, the way he grinned. It was all teeth, animal, and threatening. Sandor seemed to not mind.

"It looks like the dog that ran with his tails tucked between his legs." One of the men laughed though he got no reaction from Sandor.

"Is the dog trying to go back and beg at his master's feet?" The leader waited, almost as if he was expecting an answer. Getting none, he continued. "Fortunately for you, he wants you back." The men behind him laughed, "Though the only part he's requested is your head." The men's laughter grew, though the hound still showed no reaction. Both benders were shocked, Zuko would have burnt the man already, and Katara would have bent him into the nearest river.

"It's a pity!" One of the men shouted out, "It's such an ugly head!"

"If you want it so badly, come get it." The Hound smirked. Not in a confident way, but a bloodthirsty way. He wanted the fight, he wanted the kill.

"I will," the leader returned the smirk with a toothy grin, "and then I'll take those pets of yours and give them to the Queen, I hear her torturer has been wanting some experiments."

The fight started before Katara could even comprehend it. Suddenly the leader grunted, a knife in his chest. She glance over, and saw Arya's glare, her hand still extended from the throw, her other clutching the thin blade. The Hound attacked next, and a blaze of fire to her right told her that Zuko had joined as well.

Without another thought, she moved. A single step forward, moving her hands together in unity, and she brought forth all the water she had gathered. She hadn't even realized the man standing before her, his sword already swinging down to take off her head. Katara moved, or more accurately, her muscles moved.

She flicked her wrist and sent the water rushing at the man, sweeping him away. She spun, the water transforming into ice crystals, and ten more men fell before she realized what she had just done. The water dropped with a splash, and she collapsed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Do I have to say this every time? I don't own either Avatar: The Last Airbender or A Song of Ice and Fire, nor do I own any of the characters in this strange crossover. It is simply a product of my overactive imagination's annoying habit of asking "what if?" **

The world was a blur. Katara felt like she was underwater, numb to the world around her. _I killed them. _She repeated the words over and over. _They didn't need to die, did they?_

Was someone shaking her? She felt the world shift, was someone picking her up? It didn't matter, she didn't want to see anyone. _Am I no better than Hama now? Will I become as bitter as she is? _Was Katara crying? She couldn't tell. Where was she? Was someone still holding her?

_Where's Aang? _Her thoughts changed until it was his face, the sound of his laughter, reverberating through her mind. _He wouldn't have had to kill anyone. Aang would have been able to reason with them . . . _Her world started to shake. Who was holding her?

_Aang? _ She tried to call out, but her voice simply wouldn't work. _Sokka? Toph? None of them are here. Why aren't they here? _

_ Why did I lose control? _

_"Would you shut up already?" _A faint whisper sounded from the corner of her mind. Did it really happen?

_Who was that? _She responded without care. Why should she care? She should be dead for the crime of taking another's life.

_"Don't you recognize the one who taught your people?" _Katara could suddenly see a woman standing in the fog of her mind.

_"Yui? What are you doing here?" _Katara's voice gained back some of the lost emotion.

_"Don't compare me to my little sister. She's far weaker than I, else I would have been unable to bring you here."_

_ "Little sister? You brought me here? What's going on!?" _

_ "Yes. My little sister, the Moon Spirit of your world who, in her stupidity, placed her immortal soul in a mortal body, then weakened herself to save a scrawny baby."_

_ "Are you talking about Yui?"_

_ "Do you always have to ask questions?" _The spirit's eyes narrowed. It was not quite a glare, but Katara had never felt any more threatened in her life. _"Now be a good little pupil and be quite. Many spirits hold a relation to each other, moon spirits more so than others. Thus, the spirit now named Yui is my younger sister in your petty terms." _The spirit grimaced and pinched the bridge of her nose, _"I brought you here, hoping you could end the pain in this world, though from how useful you are I shouldn't have wasted the energy."_

_ "Wasted the energy!?" _Katara's nose flared in anger.

_"You went into shock because you killed a few mortals. I assumed you would have been stronger than that."_

_ "I'm not weak!"_ The spirit smirked.

_"Prove it." _The spirit waved her hand and an image of a girl appeared. Katara's eyes slid down the tangled locks of auburn hair to the bruises that were forming on her arms, _"In this world I go by many names, though most often I've been referred to as the Maiden." _The image of a girl vanished, and Katara could swear that the fog was twisting itself into the shape of a tree,_ "As such, this girl is under my protection." _The image faded, _"Prove to me that I've not made a mistake, save the girl." _With that, the Maiden faded into the dissipating fog.

Katara opened her eyes to find Zuko staring into hers. Worry was written on his face.

"Katara! Are you okay?" he wasted no time in asking her.

"I . . . I think so . . ." She looked around at the bloody scene. She really had gone out of control, hadn't she? The thought still sickened her . . . though it was somehow lessened. "I met . . . someone. . . I think I know why we're here." Zuko helped her stand up, and the motion got the Hound's attention.

"Thirty fucking soldiers," he chuckled, "not even the fucking Kingslayer could take on thirty swords and live, and you kill a third of 'em yourself!" He was laughing now, happy with the layer of blood over his dented armor as he searched through the saddle bags.

"How'd you do it, anyway?" Arya was busy scattering the soldier's horses. They seemed to be fairly good at this, a fact that Katara did her best to ignore. "Not the bending part," Arya continued, "The actual fighting. No one I know moves like that."

"Moves like what?"

"Without thinking," Sandor grunted, seemingly upset at the his findings, "the kingslayer himself couldn't hope to move like you did."

"I just . . . blanked out. I don't even remember what I did." Katara shrugged as she struggled to find the words she needed. Luckily, Zuko was able to fill in the gap.

"Speaking from my own past, I spent almost all of my time practicing. Every moment I spent, stuck on a ship, searching for a future that I knew would never happen, I spent trying to get to a level near my sister's." Zuko sighed, a small puff of fire escaping with his breath, "But I never got to that level. I never got to a clear-headed fighting style, my mind was always filled with hatred, or honor, or revenge."

"I was always trying to protect everyone around me, or do what I thought was right." Katara agreed. "But here . . ." She trailed off again, leaving Zuko to pick the sentence up.

"Here it felt like someone else was controlling me. Like the fire was bending me instead of the other way around. It's terrifying." Zuko shuddered, trying his best to forget the feeling of combat.

"Which might have actually been happening, do either of you know who the Maiden is?" Both Sandor and Arya stopped what they were doing. The bedroll Arya was carrying dropped to the ground, making a sickening splash in a poorly placed pool of blood. Katara tried her best to hide her grimace, though it didn't seem to affect Zuko.

"The Maiden?" Arya asked, her voice condescending.

"Yes. That's what she called herself, at least. There might have been a tree, too?"

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." The Hound seemed uninterested in counting coins any longer and moved to his horse, "Let's go. There are horses enough, we'll travel faster now."

"So you know her?" Katara was getting confused; she hadn't been expecting their reaction.

"She's one of the seven new gods." Arya rolled her eyes and hoisted herself onto a horse. She had picked a different one than what she had been riding. A thing Aang would never have done. Actually, Aang would have probably tried to take all of them, and give each one a name. Then insist that they were family, so they couldn't be left behind, and the group would have never been able to use Appa again. Katara felt like she was going to get a headache if she continued thinking like that.

"New gods?" Zuko considered for a moment, than continued, ". . . What's a god?"

The travels that night were not so silent, and when Katara finally went to sleep she had nightmares of barbaric sacrifices in front of living trees. Zuko contemplated the Red God, and both Arya and the Hound argued about the stupidity of their traveling companions.


	5. Chapter 5

Considering the rather bloody encounter, the next week was road. Boring road. Endless road. Wasn't this supposed to be dangerous? Where were all these soldiers? Were they traveling more than a week? Katara had lost track of time, and seeing how Zuko looked like he was questioning the still-visible stars he had, as well.

"We've still got two weeks to go before we reach King's Landing." Sandor answered the unasked question. Katara still thought traveling overwater with bending would have been faster, but no matter how much Arya cursed at the four hoses they refused to get on a boat made of ice.

So, they, or more precisely, Sandor, had decided to take the extremely stealthy method of entering the Red Keep: Walking through the front gate.

"Everyone knows what you look like!" Katara blurted out, causing groans from both Arya and Zuko. She was the only one still arguing this point, and by now Zuko could recite the arguments in his sleep.

"So I'll kill anyone who tries to stop me."

"Violence isn't a good plan! This is an entire city, we can't take everyone in a fight."

"So what do you propose? Sneaking in through the sewers?"

"No!" Arya shouted, earning a questioning look from her companions. "I mean . . . That would smell really bad, and be dirty, right? Besides, there are no cats down there or anything . . . it would be really boring."

"No, the sewers are not a good plan." Katara agreed with Arya on that, though she had no idea what a cat was. "But you do need a disguise."

"A disguise? How the fuck do you plan to disguise me?" The Hound gestured to his face. Katara's opened her mouth before once again shutting it, grumbling something that only her horse could hear. For the next hour she glared at her hands as they clutched her horse's reins in a white-knuckled fury.

As time continued to pass, Zuko continued to get worried over her. This world didn't seem kind to Katara at all. Even in the occasions that she snapped, she was always in control of herself and her surroundings. Aang may have been the Avatar, but there was never any doubt in Zuko's mind that Katara was the one in charge of the group.

Zuko could feel himself changing, too. Back to the spoiled prince he was, while he still held his father's favor as a child. Before Azula came along and his fire bending talents were deemed unfit for a ruler. Katara had none of that. Was this world breaking her?

Zuko leaned over and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, the comforting move his uncle had always used on him. "Katara, are you alright?" At the sound of his voice she looked up.

"Zuko," Her voice was level instead of pleading. It carried the same authority that she had before- no, Zuko thought, this was different. She was confident now. "Lean closer to me." Zuko did as she asked, speeding up his horse slightly to match her speed.

Needless to say, it was awkward. The horses were stepping out of sync, so he was constantly trying to not fall out of his saddle on onto hers, yet she didn't seem to notice it.

"Why?" He asked, realizing too late that he should have done so before.

"Close your eyes, I want to try something." Were he not so confused, he might have blushed at the excitement in her voice. Was she completely oblivious to this situation? Still, he did as she asked, and tried to forget that, as he was leaning over, his head was level with . . . the softer parts of her body.

Then he felt her hand rest on his scarred eye. He felt the coolness of water as it massaged the muscles in his face relax. Muscles he never thought existed. He scrambled for a way to describe the feeling, but his mind couldn't find the metaphor. It was warm but cool, soothing yet, at some level painful. It felt numb and sensitive at the same time. It felt like the cool touch of water on a fresh burn, yet it also felt like the burn itself.

And then it stopped.

Zuko opened his eyes, making sure to angle them upwards to see her face. She seemed happy. More than happy, she seemed proud, overjoyed, relieved. It was the first time Zuko had ever seen her so happy.

Absentmindedly, his fingers rose to trace the scars on his face, but he felt nothing but smooth skin. He laughed then, realizing that he had forgotten what it felt like. Then, forgetting he was on a horse, he leaned more and hugged her.

Katara leaned forward, too. She was a healer, a healer stronger than any other. She felt like she could do anything, and so when they let go of each other, she didn't mind when the swaying of the horses pushed them together again in an accidental kiss.

In fact, she kind of enjoyed it.

That is, until, the scrawny brat of their group decided to check up on her suspiciously silent companions.

"I knew it!" She shouted, causing Sandor to turn around as well.

"Damn." He immediately started to rustle through the coins in his purse.

"Were you two. . ." Zuko started to say something, but was unable to continue the sentence as his face turned as red as his now-gone scar once was.

"Betting on our relationship?" Katara's voice was ice. Even Sandor stopped handing the coin to Arya. The horses had stopped moving, and seemed to be deciding whether or not to run away from the angry bender.

Yet Katara showed remarkable control. She doused the two of them with water pulled from the ground. Not enough to soak them, just enough to leave them uncomfortably damp, and even though it was a relatively warm autumn day, the water was only a step above freezing.

"We'll stop in an hour!" Katara said cheerfully. "Then we can work on your disguises."

"I. Hate. Water." Arya shivered as she swung off her horse. The freezing water never evaporated. Never got warmer. Never behaved like _water_.

Not to mention that damp clothes chafe like nothing else. She never felt so raw before in her life.

"Sandor, you're next."

"What the fuck are you planning to do to me!" Any other time, Arya would have found it funny that he didn't call Katara a "little cunt," or "bitch," or, the fan-favorite, "whore."

"You need a disguise." Katara raised her hand slightly and the dampness vanished. Arya sighed in relief, and the Hound visibly relaxed. Without another word Katara moved closer to him, blocking Arya's view of whatever torture she was submitting him to.

"You look cold." Zuko was holding out his hand to her. She glared at it.

"Are you going to try to punish me, too?" Suspiciousness had kept her alive thus far, why should she give it up?

Zuko fought down a blush, he didn't even mean for _that _to happen. Not to say he didn't like it, but he couldn't help but think Katara was angry. He sighed, "No, I'm not." Arya slowly reached up and grabbed his hand.

Katara wasn't the only one who had been able to find new talents for her bending. A warmth spread throughout Arya's body, and she stop shivering instantly. The coldness had evaporated as quickly as the water had.

"What was that?" Her eyes were wide in amazement.

"I don't know what to call it." Zuko laughed, "A small and complicated form of fire-bending." Zuko contemplated for a moment, "I think the name it would be given is heat-bending. I've been practicing with sticks. To hot and it will burn, to cold and it actually seeps heat."

"How are you two so strong?" Arya's gaze had dropped down to her hands. They had become calloused at some point, but she didn't remember when.

"I don't feel strong." Zuko sat down next to her.

"You have magic! You could do anything!" Her voice was full of longing.

"I couldn't save my mother, or beat my sister, or my father. I haven't been able to do a lot of things." Zuko found himself close to laughter. "I can't understand what's going through Katara's mind!" He let the laughter out as he stood up. "Come on," he held his hand out again and helped her up, "let's see if you recognize him!"

Zuko led Arya around Katara just as she finished healing the scars. Arya gasped, a surprisingly girlish sound from her.

Sandor was no Jaime Lannister; with the handsomeness girls dream of. He wasn't the Knight of Flowers; his face wasn't nearly that girlish. Yet there was no doubt that he was handsome. His beard hadn't been trimmed properly in months and his hair hadn't been taken care of in years, but it was no longer thin and greasy. The scars were gone, and both his eyes were level. Though he was still the same size, he seemed less brutal.

Not just less brutal, but intelligent as well. The only thing Arya could think of was that he looked like a knight. Not the knights who parade about in gleaming silver and gold armor, whose only glory comes from winning tournaments. He looked like a knight from the North; a knight who had been in war and found no glory in it. He did not look like the Hound. He looked like a knight on a mission to save an innocent girl.

For time, Arya had no doubt that they were going to rescue her sister. No doubt that her sister would welcome the rescue, either. No doubt that they would be able to make it through the gates without anyone guessing their identities.

Even Sandor was speechless as he stared at his reflection in the metal of his sword.

Katara turned to the dumb-struck girl and grinned, "Your turn."

"What?"

"You need a disguise, too. We have two knights," she gestured to Zuko and Sandor, "Now we need to ladies that they can guard."

If Sandor wasn't still in shock, he would have been on the ground laughing. In fact, anyone who knew Arya would have been laughing at her being called a _lady._ Then again, none of them knew of Katara's resolve except Zuko. He feared for Arya's safety.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Rather long wait for a rather boring chapter, but it should (hopefully) get better soon, now that I've laid out my plot slightly better. Once again, I own nothing, blah blah blah. **_

It wasn't hard to find dresses. In the middle of a war, nobles were busy either fleeing fallen keeps or traveling to different areas as ambassadors. It wasn't even that difficult to find Zuko armor, and a sword to match.

That is to say, it wasn't hard when you have two benders that could be considered masters, both above the height of their powers.

"It's easier than I thought it would be," Katara shared her thoughts with Zuko.

"Easier?" Sandor was in disbelief, "You controlled them as if they were puppets! There were seventy men and you controlled them as if they were puppets!"

"It's called blood bending," Katara rolled her eyes, "and I was able to do that even before we were brought to this world. I've never been able to make them just . . . feint before." Katara had gathered everyone in the center of their camp and stopped the blood flow to their brain for a moment. It was difficult, controlling something so small, with such precision, on such a large scale. No one had such ability, but she seemed to know exactly what to do.

"I know what you mean." Zuko nodded, "It's not just easy. It's natural. Heat bending is so small and there's so much room for error. No one has even thought of it, but I felt like someone was whispering in my mind, telling me what to do."

"Did it tell you to boil the people from the inside, too?" Arya shifted in the saddle, trying to find a comfortable way to sit while wearing a dress.

"Yes." Zuko didn't hesitate in answering. He didn't feel any remorse, either. Katara hadn't been able to control everyone, and some had been able to overpower her with sheer strength of will. Seventy men were a lot, even for an advanced bender.

"What else is this voice telling you?" Sandor seemed interested now. Was there anything to make their goal easier?

"Just what it's been telling us this entire time." Katara looked toward the walls that were now looming over them.

"Get in there." Zuko finished the thought, and in moments they had joined the line of people waiting to get it. Waiting, of course, didn't last very long. Sandor powered through the crowd, taking the lead of the party. They had already gone through their plan, Sandor in the front, Zuko behind, and Katara and Arya riding side by side.

That was Sandor's doing, of course. He knew the ways people entered the city, and how their knights guarded them. Katara had the more difficult part of combing through Arya's hair and trying to pin it up into a respectable style.

Luckily her hair was much longer when it was clean, brushing her shoulders whenever she turned her head. With Sandor being a rather unhelpful resource, Katara had managed to braid Arya's hair into what would hopefully pass as high-fashion. She also managed to scold the knight for not paying more attention to the ladies of the court, he replied quickly that a hairstyle was never something to worry about, and another fight had been started.

Then came the makeup, which Arya hated even more. Partially because the way Katara _made _the makeup would have made anyone gag. Zuko made a mental note to himself: _do not get health care products from the southern water tribe, _partially because it was "girlie," and "only whores paint there faces." Which, of course, led to the description of what, exactly, a "whore," was, and the conversation left both Zuko and Katara beat red.

The end result was an Arya that looked like a lady, with a smaller nose, slightly lighter hair, and eyes that looked more blue than grey. Though she had refused to wear anything pink, Katara was able to find a green dress far enough from House Stark's colors to be relatively sure that she was unnoticed. Katara herself found a blue gown, and was proud to say that both of them looked like they belonged, and both of them did.

Both Zuko and Sandor's armor were bright, polished with sand controlled by Katara's bending. Any flaws were molded out with fire and water, and any trace of house crest removed.

Yet for all this, Katara still held her breath as their small group reached the gate. The guard stopped them for a moment, and she was sure they were caught, yet it was only a tax.

"Getting in costs money?" Katara asked, bewildered as they got in the city without troubles.

"It didn't before. They're probably trying to keep the peasants out so they don't drain the food," Arya shrugged, her father would never do that, but the Lannisters were nothing like her father, and now King Joffrey was on the throne.

"This way." Sandor grunted, not looking behind him. His hand was gripping his sword, and Zuko hesitantly mirrored the action. The streets around them seemed dirty, the people even more so, and they all like they were calculating how many would die if they attacked two knights.

"Where are we going?" Katara asked, nervous. They weren't ten minutes into the city and her hand had already strayed towards her bending pouch. Arya had already unsheathed her knife and was hiding it against her arm.

"We have to get to the red keep, and find a room there." Sandor's voice was hushed, and the conversation died.

So many questions went through the bender's minds. Why weren't these people cared for? Why did they look so hungry? Who was in charge to let it get so out of hand? Why were the walls outside the city burned?

Later, if they were asked why they changed as they did, they would not think back to those first battles. They would not think back to the bending they once thought forbidden. They would think of the children, starving in the street. The dead lying in the alleys where they had been too weak to crawl from. The smell, the lack of men, the brown slop in a pot people crowded around. Katara had always considered Ba Sing Se to be a corrupt place where people went hungry. Even though, there, no one _starved._

Zuko felt sick, his father wasn't this cruel. Azula wasn't this cruel.

"They have a moat to protect them from their own city?!" He spat out, a whisper only loud enough for their group to hear.

"Yes." Sandor didn't respond any more than that. There was no need.

"This is wrong." Katara whispered, averting her eyes from the rotting heads that stared down without eyes.

"This is King's Landing."

"Where's Sansa?" Arya looked around, as if they would be lucky enough to see her in right away. Luck was not with them.

They stabled their horses, Sandor forced to put Stranger in the stable himself, and King Joffrey graciously allowed them two small rooms.

"Are you two up to strategy right now?" Sandor's brow furrowed with concern, a strange look for him. Katara shook her head slightly, and Zuko stared ahead blankly.

"How do the people just . . . let people rule over them like that?"

"It's not like they have a choice," It seemed like Arya had been thinking about it herself for a while, "they don't know how to fight, they have no money, no power, no weapons. If anyone of them try to rise up, it's not long before it's found out by the . . ." Arya trailed off as her eyes widened.

"Damn." Sandor's voice wasn't even a whisper. He looked around the room, trying not to look like he was looking. "My Lady Annabelle," Sandor nodded at Katara, "My Lady Merrin," he nodded at Katara, "Shall we rest before going to pray?"

"Yes, it has been a long journey." Katara answered quickly, though she was confused.

"Ser Geden," He turned to address Zuko, "I leave these two in your care while I go to the kitchens and let them know we'll like some lunch soon." With that, Sandor turned and walked out, leaving a bewildered Zuko and Katara in his wake.


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own any of these characters, Game of Thrones, or Avatar. **

"Geden?" Katara asked, half in amusement and half questioning Sandor's strange action. Arya, being the polite, young girl of society that she is, gave an ever-so-subtle elbow to the ribs in answer, which only seemed to make Katara question things even more. "What was that for?"

"I want to go see the Godswood." Arya said, though, in all honesty, it was more of a whine. Her voice filled the roll of a spoiled brat perfectly, though her face was a mask of fear.

"The Godswood?" Katara paused, looking to Zuko for guidance. He shrugged, lost, since when had Katara looked to _him _for guidance?

"I wanna see the tree! Jenna says that the leaves drip blood all year round, and that the eyes are always on fire!" Katara's face went pale at the description.

"What? Wherever would she get that notion?" Katara's eyebrows knitted together in a silent question, _are we supposed to be acting like crazy-people right now? _Arya nodded, ever so slightly.

"She says that the trees are what the barbarians of the North worship, and that they're cruel, and evil, and they kill people for fun! And that's why they've started this war, the people are tired of having to sacrifice their own people to the trees, so they're going to sacrifice us instead!"

"That's a ridiculous idea, Merrin." Katara had just the faintest of pauses before saying Arya's name, "But if the only way you'll be swayed from this belief is to see the tree, I suppose we could go. Do you think Ser Iroh would be upset if we were to leave?" Zuko almost laughed aloud to think his portly uncle could ever be compared to the muscled man most considered a monster. In fact, even imagining his uncle with any muscles would have made him laugh. He couldn't even imagine him doing a single sit-up.

"As long as I'm with you he shouldn't mind."

"Yay!" Arya jumped up and nearly ran out the door, before Katara yelled after her.

"Merrin! Get back over here, young ladies do _not _run about like that." Arya scowled and stomped back, "They do not stomp around, either." Katara scolded before Zuko took the lead, a fact they had worked out before. Knights lead, if you're going to a specific location. If you're out for a simple walk, they stay behind, two steps.

This system, of course, meant that they would walk blindly unless Arya found some way to give directions, which, as a child who has seemingly never seen the palace before, would not know. Being the strategic planners that they are, however, they managed to find a way around such hiccups in their otherwise unformed plan.

Katara grabbed Arya's hand, in as if to make sure the child didn't misbehave any worse, and they continued to walk. Once they got to a hallway, though, Arya's fingers twitched ever so slightly, and if one were to pay close attention they may notice that Katara's free hand moved in a way slightly different for a loose hanging hand. Nothing more than stretching her wrist, of course, she may have been writing to much that day, or her joints were painful. Perhaps a childhood injury. If, in this time, their knight seemed to shiver as if there were cold water on his back, it was probably just a sudden chill. It was, after all, starting to get cold, and even if he was wearing armor, most of it had been removed once he had gotten into the palace.

It was in this system that they finally made it to the Godswood.

"Finally, the one place where there aren't any spiders lurking about." Arya sighed with relief.

"Spiders?" Zuko questioned, looking around. They were in a small wooded area, in the middle of a castle. He was pretty sure there were some spiders among the debris on the ground.

"Katara, where did you ever come up with scolding me like that?" Arya seemed truly impressed, "That was perfect! The way any septa, or older sister, would scold a brat." Katara blushed, not wanting to admit that she was only saying what she felt. It didn't seem right to run in a palace. "Sandor was an idiot for leaving," Arya sighed as she tried to work out where to begin in explaining, "It's unnecessary for a knight to do such a trivial chore. It's unusual for two, even low-born nobles to arrive with no servants, so he's might just be trying to play a role. Badly, though, he's never been unrecognizable enough to have to fit into a new role." Arya stopped, realizing that she'd been rambling.

"Anyway," she cleared her throat, happy to, once again, be the teacher to her two woefully ignorant students, "don't talk of whatever world you grew up in. Don't talk about home, or friends, or magic. Don't drop any names; don't call each other anything but 'Geden' or 'Annabelle.' Do not do anything that could give us away. This is the only safe place to talk. There is no other."

"What makes this place so special?" Zuko asked, not believing that talking could be so dangerous, but Arya, as usual, ignored the question.

"Sandor and I were both stupid," Arya almost flinched at the confession, "we've grown up in these places, where people are always listening. It's worse, here, though. People are _always _listening. The highborn want to take any slip up as proof you don't belong in their circle, and the servants almost always report to someone. The Queen, Littlefinger, but most importantly, and dangerously, they report to the Spider."

"You're not going to answer my question, are you?" Zuko mumbled, dejected.

Arya glared at him, and then, in simple defiance, she changed the pace of her rant, "don't trust anywhere. The walls in the Red Keep, as they say, have ears. The walls are hollow. Lucky for me, both spiders _and _cats find them, as well as girls who chase cats." She gave a triumphant smile, though in truth she had been terrified when the cat dashed into a tiny opening behind a heavy drape. "This place doesn't have walls though. There's no secret passes, and there's no one that can be lurking without you seeing." She walked forward and gently touched the worn face on the tree, "Plus, I find it comforting to be here. The tree is familiar, it reminds me of home. Of my brothers, and parents, and Nymeria."

The sound of a gate opening intruded on the silence, and their heads all snapped to the sound. In a moment, a lone figure came into view.

"I'm sorry," The girl looked down without seeing the people, "I didn't realize you were in prayer. I'll . . . come back later." Arya stared in disbelief, only snapping out of her shock when Sansa turned away.

"Sansa!" She cried out, and Sansa stopped turned back with a questioning look.

"Arya?" She looked into her younger sister's face, making out the familiar features. "Arya, thank the gods! What are you doing here?!" Sansa rushed forward and hugged her sister without thinking. All their fights, all the name calling, all the hurt between the two vanished.

"We're getting you out, of course!" Arya smiled and hugged back. Katara and Zuko suddenly felt awkward.

"Getting me out?" Sansa asked, suddenly ashamed at making her own plans for escape. A drunken knight no longer seemed a sound option, anymore. "How are you going to do that?"

"Well, it's a long story, but-" The gate opened again, from a different direction this time, sending the group into silence. Sandor walked to the tree, zeroing in on Katara, first.

"I leave you for five-fucking minutes! How the fuck do you get it in your mind to leave without telling me. There wasn't even a note!"

"Sandor?" Sansa asked, and the knight went stiff. For the first time in his life, he didn't have anything to say. "How are you two traveling together?" She looked between Sandor and Arya, "and what happened to your face?" She strode towards Sandor, and without thinking, gently laid her hand where his face was once marred by flame.

If she hadn't heard him speak, she would never have recognized him. He didn't look like the Hound anymore; no one would make that mistake. He wasn't the Kings dog anymore. He wasn't pretty, either. Not like the knights she dreamed about as a child, he was no Knight of Flowers, no Jaime Lannister. He was, however, handsome. There was no denying that. In some corner of Sansa's mind, she realized that the knight she once dreamed of stopped being pretty long ago. Stopped being pretty, and started to look like the face she was looking at right now.

A face that had stories to tell, and none of them good. A face with eyes that were hard to the world, but soft to her. A face that belonged in the cold winters of the North she missed so often now.

She pulled her hand away, trying to hide the blush that was growing on her cheeks, s blush that remembered a night, long ago, when she sang him a song. Was there a kiss, too? It seemed so hazy, now.

"I once offered," Sandor found his voice, finally, "to take you away with me. That offer still stands."


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own any of the characters or places used in this fanfiction. **

Sansa froze; ever since The Hound left she had regretted the decision so much. Even though she doubted he could make her safe, even though she doubted he would never get angry. She remembered _that _hound, not this knight who looked so much like a number of her father's companions. Not the man that kept her little sister safe, or traveled with two strangers.

It felt like she froze forever, yet barely a moment had passed. Sandor looked into her eyes hopefully as Arya shuffled nervously on her feet. Zuko suddenly felt awkward standing so close to Katara and he shifted slightly away from her, trying not to seem clingy. The moment ended when Sansa's face blossomed into a smile, the first one she had in a long time.

"When can we leave?" Her eyes sparkled with tears. Sandor looked towards Katara, and Sansa followed suit, slightly confused. The Hound would never bow to someone else's plan so easily.

"We haven't been here very long." Katara leaned against the Heart Tree. "I don't know the layout of the castle, or how many people there are. We've only been here a few hours." Katara sighed, trying to think of any way of escape. She still thought getting _in _was lucky.

"Try praying." Sansa smiled, looking at the tree fondly. "It always helps me." Arya nodded, remembering practicing her swordsmanship in its branches.

"To what?" Katara asked, baffled, "None of the spirits I know would help with this."

"To the Old Gods." Sansa smiled and looked at the sky, "They're everywhere. They watch over us through the trees."

"That's kind of . . . creepy." Zuko shook his head. "Can't we just . . . walk out?" Everyone turned to glare at him. "What? They weren't checking on people leaving the city! Besides, even if guards do try to stop us, Katara can just bloodbend them so they stay still." Katara stared at him, trying to find a flaw in the plan.

". . . That might actually work." She sounded disappointed. It didn't seem like such an easy plan _should _work. After all, the people who worked in the castle spent so much time making it secure something like breaking out the one of the most important war hostages shouldn't be easy.

"No, not really." A voice echoed from above them, and they all looked into the Heart Tree's red leaves. A ghostly white form was lounging in the branches as if she lived there all her life.

"A spirit?" Sansa asked, too shocked to say anything more. The spirit seemed disappointed.

"Really? Nothing more than that? No screams? No one's running away in terror? Nothing?" The spirit walked down the branches like a cat before finally resting on the bottom, above everyone's head. She seemed to be made out of fog and moonlight, the slightest breeze making her gown and hair trail through the air. "No reaction to that, either? A god just appeared before you and you do nothing! Not even a proper bow!?" The spirit's face was stern for a half a second before she burst into a lilting laughter.

"Ahhh, that's why I love humans so much! It's easy to shock you into silence. On a more serious note, though," she flipped upside down and hung from the tree like a cat, "It's rather difficult to choose such a physical form. We gods don't get out much, you see."

"Are you one of the old gods?" Sansa asked.

"Oh! A question!" The spirit clapped as she laughed, "I like questions! They're wonderful aren't they?" The spirit waited, looking expectant.

"Ummm. . . yes?" Zuko responded.

"See! There's another one! Yay!" The spirit started swinging from the branch. "To answer yours," She swung towards Zuko, "Yes. Questions are wonderful! And yours," She swung towards Sansa, "Is much too. Try better!"

"How is it difficult?"

"See! Better! It's difficult because I am and I'm not! I'm an old and a new, I'm a portion of some and my own as well. You humans don't really grasp god-hood easily." She laughed again. "I'm not as strong as the one that brought you two here, though." She seemed frustrated by that, "The moon spirit was here long before the rest of us. She's quite old, really. Some would say she's a hag." The spirit laughed again, "Nothing like yours, a new moon spirit! That would be wonderful! Ours isn't stupid enough to take a mortal form, though. Mostly because it's much too difficult. I can only manage this foggy-moonlight thing. And that's because I have a blessing from _her _to do so." The laughter stopped. The girl didn't seem to like the moon very much.

"Anyway, I have to give you a message, little water girl." The spirit flipped down, and stood straight and tall upon the ground. Where she was childish before, her face was now stern and knowing. She seemed to age 20 years in a brief moment, and her eyes held all the power of a god. "You must stop. Bringing you here, while not necessarily a mistake, has caused a war within the realm of the gods. You see, we play favorites, too. Now the gods of fire have seen fit to give _their _favorite dragons, and the gods of flowers have given theirs poison. The gods of snow have given wolves and sight to theirs, and the minor gods have hooked theirs up with stronger gods."

"What does this have to do with me?" Katara asked, defensive.

"Your patron, let's call her, used her considerably larger power to call you both here. Not only do the fire gods claim he should belong to them, but your power is too great. Every other god has turned against the old hag, she's not strong enough to face everything. So, you need to stop it. No more bloodbending. No more manipulating people from the inside. No more boiling them from the inside, or roasting them alive. You can still bend, but you can't bend _people." _The spirit's face turned back into a childish one, "Just pretend you're still living by the morals of your old world! Unless," The face turned mischievous, some might even say evil, "That is, you've abandoned all morals you once held. This is after all, not your world. Why should you care about the people within?" She had slowly been getting closer to Katara, until she stood inches from her face. "Why should you care that thousands of immortals have died? That dragons are feasting on children's flesh once more? That there is a greenspeaker long past when there should be none? Why should you care for the turmoil you've caused this world, hmmm?" Then, without warning, the child was back again, spinning away from the frightened water bender, "See! Questions are wonderful!"

"Wait a second! Why did you make it sound like everything was Katara's fault? I'm just as much to blame!" Zuko stepped forward to confront the childish god.

"Because the fire gods support you." She said, bluntly, "You're an asset to them, and an accident brought over by the old hag. She didn't want you, but the fire gods do. I doubt they'll ever let you leave." She shrugged and laughed again. "I have to go now, the hag is calling! Bye bye! Remember, no bloodbending! No manipulating! Or else you'll die! If I may make a suggestion, your patron favors the Starks, and the north! These two are your best bet, without them you wouldn't be here!" with that, the fog lost its brightness and drifted away, leaving the godswood quiet once more and its inhabitants stunned.


End file.
